ONCE UPON A TIME
by Kirbysbabe
Summary: Sarge is injured and has a very strange dream.


_Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc, ABC, Image Productions etc._

_Disclaimer: Combat! and its characters do not belong to me, t__his WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction__ and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story._

ONCE UPON A TIME

The pain in his leg had become unbearable. The bullet wound wasn't so bad when he first got hit but now it felt like his left leg was on fire. How did it all go so wrong?

The men of 1st squad were on a run of the mill recon. Just head northeast for several miles. Check to make sure that the Germans hadn't moved into the little town of Duclair. Call in and report their findings to the lieutenant and circle back; easy as pie.

They had made it to Duclair without incident. The town looked like it was straight out of one of Louise's fairytale books she had when she was a kid. It was situated on Seine River. It even had a small castle. The whole town was beautiful.

Saunders had Caje ask an old man if he had seen any Germans. The old man said that they were the first soldiers he had seen in over a month.

The men were astounded by the fact that no one had fought here. It was picture perfect.

"Okay you guys, spread out." I still want us to have a good look around before we leave.

The men leapfrogged from one building to the next. The area looked as if there wasn't a war at all.

Caje was the first one back. "Sarge, it's like the old man said, there hasn't been a soldier here for quite a while."

The rest of squad finished their search and came up empty. There just wasn't anything to report.

Saunders looked at his men and decided to let them rest a bit before they returned home. "Littlejohn hand me the radio, I wanna call in and let the lieutenant know what we have found. We're gonna rest here for 20 minutes so break out your rations."

The squad sat down on the grass and began eating their food. As the men sat there they watched the river flow and drank in all its beauty.

Checkmate King Two this is White Rook, over."

"This is King Two what do you have to report, over."

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. We checked the whole town and the people said they hadn't seen a soldier in over a month. We'll be starting back, if there isn't anything else, over."

"No, just come on back, over."

"Will do, over and out."

After they had finished eating and had rested a bit, Saunders called to his men to gather their equipment and start back.

The men had only travelled a short distance when the encountered a convoy of German tanks and half tracks carrying gun crews.

The men ran into the dense foliage of a small forest. Their pulses were racing and their hearts pounding. As they hid, the men counted the number of tanks and halftracks which were headed right towards Duclair.

When they had disappeared over the rise Saunders called out to the men. "How many did you count?"

Kirby stood up quickly even though his legs felt like jelly. "Sarge I counted six tanks and ten halftracks. It seemed to me, including the driver there were thirteen unlucky Germans in each halftrack!"

"That's what I counted. We gotta call this in but it isn't safe here. We gotta move we're still to close, so let's get goin'."

The men were doing double time. They were moving fast trying to get further away from the town.

Caje was on point. He couldn't believe it when he ran directly into a German squad! The Germans were just as surprised.

"Hit it", screamed Caje. The men scrambled for cover and began firing at anything that moved.

The sound was deafening. The Sarge could only guess what Kirby was mouthing as he slammed another magazine into his BAR.

For once it seemed that the gods of war were on their side. They had the all the cover; the Germans barely had a bush to hide behind.

As fast as the firefight began, it ended just as abruptly.

The men got up from their hiding places and walked towards the soldiers to make sure they were all dead.

Saunders walked up to one of the Germans and turned him over. He saw that the young man was still clutching his rifle and his face was tearstained. The Sarge didn't want to look that closely, he didn't want to make a connection. It was enough he had to kill him. Why would he want to make it more human; just get the job done and don't think about it.

As he turned to check another body he heard the click of a gun but it was too late. He hit the ground with a thud.

Littlejohn fired at the soldier and killed him instantly.

Doc and Kirby ran and knelt down next to Saunders.

"Let me take a look at it Sarge."

Kirby opened his mouth to ask Doc about the wound but closed it immediately when he saw the concerned look on Doc's face.

"We gotta get him back fast, Kirby. The bullet is still inside him. I can't tell what kind of damage it has done."

Kirby got up and started running back into the forest with Caje close on his heels. "Kirby, where are you goin'?"

"Doc says we need to get the Sarge home fast and I was gonna cut some limbs to make a litter."

Caje noticed the fear on Kirby's face. "Ok Kirby, I'll help ya."

Doc opened up his rucksack and began pulling out sulfa and bandages. He sprinkled the sulfa on the open wound and wrapped the bandage around the Sarge's leg. By the time Doc had finished with the bandage, it was completely soaked. He grabbed another and placed it on top of the first bandage. He prayed this would hold until they could get Saunders home. He pulled out the morphine styrette.

Saunders pushed Doc's hand away. "Not now Doc, I gotta have a clear mind right now."

"But Sarge it's gonna start hurtin' soon. Right now you are runnin' on adrenaline."

"I just need to keep it together for a little longer."

Caje and Kirby found some sturdy saplings and cut them down.

The rest of the men had stripped off their jackets and began tying them to the poles. They carefully placed Saunders on the makeshift litter.

Saunders lifted his head. "First I need the radio so I can call into the lieutenant and let him know what we saw. Secondly, Kirby if I get worse, you're in charge."

"Wait a minute Sarge, why don't we think this over a little more."

"I know you'll do your best to get everybody back."

Kirby's face showed his acceptance to the situation. He would do everything in his power to get them all back alive.

Littlejohn handed Saunders the radio.

Checkmate King Two this is White Rook, over."

"This is King Two what's wrong, over."

"Saw six tanks and ten half tracks heading for Duclair, each half track held twelve men. We also ran into a squad of Germans none got away, over."

"Was anyone hit, over?"

"I got hit but it hardly hurts. What do you want us to do, over?"

"Get out of there fast, I'll call in air strike. I'll call you back to let you know when they are going to start the strike, over and out."

The men started out again with Caje on point. He was moving a bit slower because he felt it was his fault that the Sarge got hit. He didn't want another chance meeting with one more German squad.

The radio crackled to life. "White Rook this is Checkmate King Two, over."

Littlejohn handed the phone to Saunders.

Saunders lifted his head as he reached for the handset. Before he answered the call he yelled out to Billy. "Nelson go get Caje and bring him back here."

Billy hurried off in search of Caje.

"This is White Rook, over."

"You have less than twenty minutes to get out of the area."

"Alright, we'll get a move on, White Rook out."

"Let's get out of here, we've got less than twenty minutes to get outta here or we are gonna start to think we're Chicken Little and the sky is fallin' on us!

The men grabbed their gear. Doc and Billy picked up Saunders and they all began to move out at a fast clip.

They hadn't gone very far when Doc called a halt. "We gotta stop. Sarge can't take all this jostlin' we've been doin'. I need to give him somethin' to help with the pain."

"I don't want anything, Doc, I'm alright. Let's keep movin'."

Doc shook his head at Kirby. "He's been groanin' and cryin' out with every step."

"Give him the shot Doc no matter what he says. We need to move faster and if he's awake he won't be able to take it."

Doc took out the morphine. Saunders started to object but he knew he was out voted this time. Doc found his vein and Saunders felt a sudden warmth and then a peaceful feeling and finally sleep.

Kirby took a deep breath and looked at the men. "Littlejohn trade off with Billy for a while. Billy you stay near the litter. Sorry Doc but until we get outta here you're gonna have to keep on carryin' the Sarge. Caje go back on point and I'll take the rear. Now let's hurry."

The men could walk a little more quickly now that the Sarge was asleep. Kirby had one eye on where they had been and another on his watch. He knew they had only a few more minutes before the planes would start dropping their bombs. Why did Sarge do this to me? Why didn't he leave Caje in charge? Alright stop complainin' to yourself and think of somethin'. Kirby picked up his pace and ran past Billy and the others. "Billy, I'm gonna go look for Caje, just keep movin' as fast as you can. I'll be right back."

Kirby found Caje about quarter of a mile ahead. "Caje we're never gonna make it outta here before they start droppin' the bombs."

"I was thinkin' the same thing and I found a cave that I thought we could hide in until the strike was over."

Kirby let out a breadth that he had been holding. "I was hopin' that you could find something because we don't have much time left. How far is the cave?"

"It's right around the bend, there's even a little stream right next to the cave."

"Thanks Caje. Now let's go get the others."

"Caje found us a cave we can hide in until the air strike is over. Doc give me your side, Billy take over for Littlejohn, we gotta fly."

The men were running with all the strength they had left in their legs. They could hear the planes overhead as they reached their new little home.

Littlejohn called out to the men "Gimme your canteens, we're gonna need water in case we're stuck in there for a while."

The men handed him their canteens as they entered the cave. Littlejohn went to the stream and started to fill them when the first bomb hit the outskirts of the town. As he finished filling the canteens, he ran towards the cave just as another explosion hit. The force of the bomb was so ferocious that the ground shook like an earthquake. Littlejohn fell down as he entered the cave.

"Are you alright, Littlejohn?"

"Yea Kirby, I'm Okay."

Kirby knelt down next to Doc and Saunders. "How's Sarge doin'."

"He's bleedin' again and he's got a fever. Kirby, I'm afraid an infection is settin' in; he needs a real doctor."

"I know Doc, I know, there ain't much we can do about it right now. So do the best you can until we can get out of here."

Kirby walked towards the entrance when another explosion hit the front of the cave. Kirby was blown to the side of the wall as large rocks plummeted from above and covered the opening.

"I knew this would happen, Kirby if we came in here," said Littlejohn. "Now, what are you gonna do, huh?"

Kirby stood up and walked away. Littlejohn was right; all of this was his fault.

Caje gave Littlejohn a dirty look. "First of all I talked Kirby into coming in here and if you were so sure this would happen, why didn't you say something?"

"Now wait a minute guys, let's not argue, I made the decision. There just wasn't anywhere else to go. We would have been out there in the middle of this and probably some of us would have gotten hit."

"I'm sorry Kirby, that wasn't fair of me. You were right; we had to come in here."

Everyone could see the smile that played upon Doc lips. "Now that this love fest is over, we better find a way outta here."

Kirby smiled too as he ambled his way over to Littlejohn. "Aww, Come on Littlejohn, we gotta find another opening."

Littlejohn found a limb of a tree. "Hey Doc, you got any extra gauze? I can make a torch if you have any."

Doc looked into his rucksack and threw Littlejohn a roll.

Kirby removed his jacket and handed it to Doc. "Here ya go Doc, it's for the Sarge. Billy, see if you can find some more wood, so you can build a fire. Sarge needs to be kept warm."

As Littlejohn lit his torch, he and Kirby went further into the cave, the long tunnel headed downhill. As they continued walking they could heard the trickling of water. "Did ya hear it, Kirby; there's got to be an underground stream near here. If we find it maybe it will lead us to an exit."

The men continued walking and listening for the sound of water.

The men were exhausted as they sat next to the fire. The Sarge began to stir, he was mumbling something but no one understood what he was saying. Even though he was still out of it, Saunders tried to sit up. All of a sudden he screamed from his pain. He was awake now.

Doc helped him back down. "Sarge take it easy. You gotta stay still or you're gonna start bleedin' again. How do you feel?"

"It hurts; it feels like my leg is on fire. Where are we Doc?"

Caje sat next to Saunders. "I found this cave because we would have been killed out there."

"Where's Kirby?"

Caje didn't want him to worry, so he decided not to tell him everything. "Kirby and Littlejohn are checking out some of the cave."

Caje leaned over to Doc and whispered, "Knock him out Doc, if he finds out what's happened he won't ever take another shot."

Doc took out another styrette and injected the drug before Saunders knew what was happening.

Saunders felt like he was flying. He could see the little castle in the distance. He decided to take a better look.

He slowly made his way to the door. He turned the door knob and walked inside.

There was a large foyer with a grand staircase. Standing at the top of the stairs was a beautiful woman in a long blue gown. Her eyes were a lonely color, blue grey like the ocean. Her hair was long and wavy. He thought it looked like the color of fall. What was the name? Auburn, that's what they called it. "I have been waiting for you Sergeant. Why didn't come in when you were here before?"

"My men and I were on a mission and we had to get back home. But how did you know we were here?"

"I saw you from my window."

As she descended the stairs, it was as if she were floating on a cloud. She walked over to Saunders and took his hand. "My name is Gabrielle Rousseau. Come with me, I would like to show you my very favorite room."

The room was light and airy. It was beautifully decorated in ivory and peach damasks. He looked out the windows and there were beautiful flowers everywhere.

He felt so out of place. The Sarge was afraid to touch anything.

"Please sit down and make yourself comfortable."

"I don't dare sit down in here; my clothes will make everything dirty."

"Sergeant your clothes are not dirty."

He couldn't figure it out but he was in his dress uniform.

Saunders sat down on a small couch. Gabrielle settled down next to him and handed him a glass of Champagne. It was so delicious. She leaned over and kissed him, it was wonderful. Her lips were so soft; he wished it could have gone on forever.

He could hear something but it seemed to be so far away. It was his men, they were calling him. The squad needed him.

"I have to go, Gabrielle. I need to be with my men."

"I'm sorry that you must leave but you are welcome back here anytime."

"Thank you I will." Saunders kissed her hand as he stood up and walked out of the room. He went to the door and opened it, now he could now clearly hear his men. He was needed and had to get back. He looked back into the castle saw her standing in the foyer. She wiped the tears from her eyes as he closed the door.

Kirby and Littlejohn kept following the sound of the stream. The sound grew louder. "Kirby, look it's gettin' a lot lighter in here."

They hurried towards the light and found a small opening. "Thank God, we can now get the heck outta here. Come on Littlejohn let's go and get the others."

They ran back up the tunnel to find the others. "Hey you guys Kirby and I found a way out."

"How is he, Doc?"

"He's gotta fever, Kirby and he's been talkin' real crazy about leavin' and bein' with his men."

"Let's all get outta here."

The men walked down the long tunnel and out into the bright sunshine.

Caje looked back over his shoulder. He could see smoke was rising from the little town. "How I hate this war! Duclair was so beautiful and now it's just rubble; like all the other places we have been."

The men shook their head in agreement. It was another beaten up town.

The men began walking back home. They had made it back without ever seeing another German.

"Kirby, me and Billy are gonna take the Sarge over to battalion aid."

"Alright Doc, I gotta go and explain to Lieutenant Hanley why we we're so late gettin' back here."

The two men carried the Sarge inside the tent. A doctor motioned for them to put him on an empty cot. "I'm Doctor Donahue; please excuse me while I examine your sergeant."

The men left the tent and were met with the rest of the squad.

"Did you speak to the lieutenant, Kirby?"

"Yea, I told him about the cave. I was waitin' for him to let me have it. He asked if there was any other place to hide and I told him no. The lieutenant said he would have done the same thing."

The squad stood around the tent waiting for the doctor. Hanley also joined his men. All they wanted was some kind of news. It was driving all of them nuts. They felt like they had been waiting for hours. Finally, the doctor came out to speak to the men.

"Hello lieutenant, we removed the bullet from Sergeant Saunders' leg, it didn't hit anything vital. His leg will be fine. However, he has a bad infection and will be with us for awhile. Now I suggest you all go get something to eat and get some rest. I'll let you know when you can see him."

The men smiled as they walked towards the chow line. They were happy to know that their Sarge would be fine and yelling out orders soon.

Saunders began waking up from his long sleep. He realized from the smell of disinfectant that he was in the hospital. He took his hand and slid it down his leg.

"Yes sergeant, your leg is still there. We removed the bullet but you still have a fever from the infection. Would you like some water?"

His voice was hoarse as he answered yes. The nurse lifted his head in order for him to take a sip. "Easy now, we don't want to choke now do we?"

Saunders finally looked up and saw the nurse. Her eyes; he had seen that color before. In fact he had seen her before but he just couldn't remember where.

"Have we met before?"

The nurse smiled at him. "Gee sergeant, I would have thought you would have come up with something more original."

"I'm serious; I could have sworn we had met before."

She saw he that he really serious. It was driving him crazy. He knew he had seen her before.

"I'm pretty sure that we have never met. I was just transferred here yesterday. My name is Lieutenant Gabrielle Rivers but everyone calls me Gabby. It's very nice to meet you."

She lightly touched him on his shoulder before she left. "I'll be back soon."

He still couldn't remember but it didn't seem matter anymore. She would be back and then they could start making new memories.

THE END


End file.
